Car-cager.



JQP. GIBBONS.

GAR GAGBR. APPLICATION FILED IEB.26, 1913.

M m. J

INVENTOR ATTORNEY oiv'iTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CABFCAGER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 30,1913.

Application filed February 26, 1913. Serial No. 750,840.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES P. GIBBoxs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Sangamon and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Car-(lagers, 'of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in c-ar-cag'ers for mines, of the type adapted to automatically place loaded mine cars on the cage of a mine, and to remove the empty cars from the cage without the necessity of manual labor in performing these operations.

An object of my device is to provide a means for slowing down a number of loaded cars when run into the mine bottom so that they may not run into the sump, this operation to be performed without the manual assistance of a spragger;

Another object of my invention is to provide means for releasing a loaded car from the abovementioned braking device and to allow it to run down an inclined track into structiom-arrangement, and combination of parts, as will be herein fully described and pointed out in the appended claims.

The preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated in the. accompanying drawings to which I now-r'efer.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a fragmentary plan view of the device of my invention, in position at the bottom of a mine shaft. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary View of my invention, partly in section and partly in elevation. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view of a portion of the braking device taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 2. Fig. i is a front elevation of the stopping and releasing member, showing the movement of that memher in the stopping and releasing position.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates inclined track's upon which mine cars 2 are adapted to travel, track 1 terminating at the sump of a mine shaft designated as 3. The cages, not showm'are adapted to travel upward and downward in shaft 3, the floor of the cages having tracks which are a'conti'nuation of tracks 1 of the mine. The tracks on the cages, when the cages arein position for loading cars. are adapted to be on a plane with tracks 1 of the shaft bottom. There being two tracks on the mine bottom and two cages adapted to ascend and descend in shaft 3, it is not thought necessary to refer to but a single track as the arrangement of the device is the same for both sides of the shaft. I

Numeral 4 designates an actuating member adapted to slide upward and downward in guide members 5on the side of the sump of the mine-shaft actuating member 4 having rigidly attached to it a cable member 6' which passes over a pulley or sheave wheel 7 located in the center of the tracksleading to the shaft. Pulley 7 is counter-sunk into the traclnallowing the cable member 6 to extend slightly above the level of the ties. Cable member 6 extends backward from the mine shaft parallel with the rails of track 1 and is attached to an eye-bolt 8 which pivots bell cranks 9 together. Bell cranks 9 are L-shaped and are pivoted to foundation members 11 located below the level of track ties, at points designated as 12, bell cranks 'Qbeing adapted to move about pivot. points 12 under the rail members of track 1. The outer arms of the bell crank members are provided with stopping and releasing heads '10 which are normally in upright positions above the rail members. Stopping and releasing members 10 are provided with curved inner faces 13 which are adapted to conform to a portion of the circumference of the wheels of mine cars 2.

A spring member designated aslet is provided with a hook adapted to. catch in eyebolt member 8, the other end of spring 14 being caught in stationary eye-bolt member l5 suitably anchored in the center of track beams 16 carried parallel to track 1 by a series of link members 17 which are pivoted to the brake beams and to foundation beams 18.- Foundation beams 18 are rigidly anchored tothe upper side of theties of track 1,. and are carried I'OIl' the outer side 'of the rail members. Brake beams 16 are adapted to be normally held at suflicient distance from the rails of track 1 to allow the wheels of mine cars to pass thereunder. The inner faces 16 of brake beams 16 are on a, plane I with the inner faces of the rail members of track 1. At both ends of the brake device,

crank shaft members 19 are provided and extend across the track between the ties and under the rails, havingarms 19 extendingv upward and pivoted at their upper ends to brake members 16. I Crank members 19 are also. pivoted to foundation beams 18 on the end of (an actuating lever 24. Lever 24 is actuate stopping and releasing members 101 outward about pivoting points 12, allowing: a mine car which has been held from move pivoted at any point above pivoting point 25, which point may be designated as :26. Lever24 is provided with a locking means 27 adapted to engage in ratchet 28 for the purpose of locking said lever in any desired positions. In operation, it

lower, side of the bottom of the mine -cage will engage with actuating member 4, forc-' ing it downward along guide members 5.

Cable'membe'r 6 will be drawn down at its lower end over pulley '17, drawing with it the inner ends of bell cranks 9, which will ment toward the shaft by heads 10, to move along inclined track '1 on the cage ascends, spring 14 will draw the inner ends of bell cranks 9 backward to. their normal position, leasing members 10 back into positlon over the rails ready to catch the next car which may run downward along the track.

The braking device is adapted to be located at some distance back from the shaft openings and is adapted to be operated by an attendant on the mine bottom. In actual use, brake beams 16 are preferably of sufficient length to cover the wheels of three or four mine cars. It will be readily seen that when a trip comes into the bottom of a mine, thatthe attendant, by actuating lever 24 backward and forward may cause friction to be set up between brake beams.16 and the wheels of mine cars, causing the same to slow down and come to rest. When the'cars have become stationary the lever arm 21, to which is piva will be readily seen that: as the bottom of amine cage descends into. sump 3'below the level of track 1, that the' to the cage then located on a level with track 1, forcing theempty car on the cage off the cage onto atrack on the opposite side of shaft 3. -VVhen throwing stopping and re-f to hell crank members, ried over a sheave wheel in a mine track, a

character described, her, a'cable member, a sheave wheel counterlocked in ratchet 28, holding the cars iI 1\a braked position so that they may not travel down the inclined track. The attendant may then release the cars from the braking device for a sufficient length of time to allow one of thecars of the trip to travel out from under brake beams 16, looking the brake after the release of one-car. then be thrown on to either trackfld'esired, by a switch, not shown, which is usually provided 'forthis purpose in a mine. The

.car will then becaught by the stopping and releasing device and held in position there until the device is actuated by a descending mine cage. From the foregoing-description it will be readily seen that the device of my invention provides'an effective means of slowing down,

and braking trips'of mine cars; that a car' can be The car can' may be released from said braking device and allowed to run onward to a stopping a and releasing device where it will be held until-released; and that'an automatic meansv is provided whereby a car may be released "from a stopping and releasing device and allowed to run on a cage, pushing ofl' an empty car in place thereof, when actuated" I by said descending mine cage. 4

"Changes within the spirit and scope of .the appended claims'may be made as it is obvious that the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be varied in many ways.

- Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. The combination in a device of the character described, of an actuating member provided with slide members adapted to engage with guide members carriedin the wall ofa mine sump, said, actuating member being adapted to extend at right angles to said wall and having a cable member connected thereto, a cablemember, a sheave wheel, bell crank members, stopping and releasing members carried by bell crank mem-.

bers, a coil spring. member, a braking device, and means for operating said braking device, substantially as described. I

2. The combination in a device of the character described,'of an actuating member, a cable member connected at one end to an actuating member and at theother-end to an eye-bolt member pivotally connected said cable being carstopping and means for opdevice, a substantially sunk in a mine track and adapted to carry a a coil spring memcable member, bell crank members, stopping and releasing members, a coil spring member, abraking device, and means for operating said braking device, substantially as described.

4. The combination in a device of the character desc'ribed,-of an actuating mem-" crank. members,'said stopping and releasing.

heads being raised to an upright position above rail members of a track, the inner faces of said heads being curved to conform to a portion of the circumference of the wheels of mine cars, a coil spring, a brak- -ing device, and means for operating said braking device, substantially as described. 6., The combination in a device of the character described, of an actuating memher, a cable, a sheave Wheel, bell crank members, stopping and releasing members, acoil spring member having its outerend anchored in the center of a track-and its inner end attached to the pivoting pin of said bell crank members, a braking device, and means for operating said braking device, substantially as described.

having crank arms at right angles'tov said 'crank shafts,'said crank arms beingpivoted 7. The combination in a device of the 40 character-described, of an actuating member, a cable, a sheave Wheel, bell crank members, stopping and releasing members, a coil spring, a braking device having two parallel brake beams carried parallelto the rails of a track, said parallel beams being connected by a series ofpivoted link members to foundation beams. carried on the tie members of said, track, said, brake beams being normally positioned 'at -suiiicient distance above said rails. to permit thegpassing of 'car Wheels thereunder, said brake beams being connected to each other by crank shafts passing beneath the rails of said'track and 'to said brake beams adjacent both ends thereof, one of said crank arms being extended below said crank shaft and adapted to connect with means for operating said braking device, and means for operating said braking device, substantially as described.

" 8. The combination in a device of the character described, of an actuating memher, a cable, a sheave Wheel, bell crank members, stopping and releasing members, a 001].

spring, a braking device, 'a brake rodpivoted to oneend of.a braking device and at i the other end to a brake lever, said brake lever being-pivoted at a point above saidbrake rod .and having a handle and loclfing means to secure said lever in different positions, substantially as described. JAMES P.' GIBBONS.

-Witnesses:

' W. H. KAVA'NAUGH,

S.-'H. GIBBONS.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing tlie Gonimissioner of Iatents,

Washingto'n, D, Q." I 

